Interview: Sid Meier on Civilization Revolution

Putting the "evolution" in Revolution

SM: The world just wasn’t ready yet! The current generation of consoles allows us to really push the presentation of the game to a new level and we think console gamers are ready for a new game experience. The Xbox 360 is powerful enough to handle the AI and the late game which requires a huge amount of memory.

Why is it necessary to streamline Civ in the leap from PC to console?

SM: Civ Rev allowed us the opportunity to really examine the Civ series and determine which features are the most fun. We were able to take the best ideas from all previous versions and add to it cool features and elements that have never been in the games before- naval support for instance. It wasn’t that we couldn’t get some Civ IV features working on the console; we are really looking to break into a new area and attract new Civ fans so that defined our approach. We’ve made the game very fast-paced which ramps up the intensity, and the graphics and user interface are very engaging and accessible.

Why handle it yourself?

SM: Bringing Civilization to the new generation of consoles is a major step for the franchise and Firaxis, so I wanted to be the one to design and lead the effort. Civilization is obviously very close to our hearts and we just didn’t want to leave that in anyone else’s hands.